Tori Moreno

Tori Moreno

TORI MORENO

UPDATE FROM TORI 2013:

Hello, My names Tori Moreno. I'm 14 years old as of last June. I'm a freshmen in high school and have been pretty busy with finals( luckily its over and I'm on Christmas break). So far this year, I went on a Caribbean cruise with my dad, grandpa, and cousins. I think the ship was called Oasis of the Seas. It was really fun! We left from Florida and went to Haiti, Jamaica, and Cozumel Mexico. It was all fun and the ship it's self was spectacular! I also went back to Kansas during the summer for the 4th of July and to visit family. After a week or so me and my grandparents drive to Virginia for my cousins school promotion then we headed for Washington D.C. We toured around then drove back to Kansas. For 4th of July my family had our family BBQ and then went downtown for the annual Empire Days. On July 4th, Galva shuts down main street and a whole bunch or activities go on. Then at night there's a street dance and fireworks. I go back there usually every year for that. I love spending time back there. Now, my grandparents are suppose to be here tomorrow for Christmas, which is exciting. Now about school, not a whole lot goes on. I mean, it's school, so most of what happens I'm sure you can guess. Although I was on the varsity volleyball team this year. It was my first time being on a school affiliated sport. We did pretty good and I loved my team and coach! I definitely would like to play again next year. For now, I'm pretty sure I'm going to try out for the softball team after break, but I'm still debating it. My school is relatively small. There's 90 of us, including all the other grades. So because of the size, everybody knows everybody, which has its ups and downs. Overall, it's not as bad as people make it out to be. As for myself, I love owls. I can't even tell you how many owl necklaces, rings, shirts, etc. I have (it scares me sometimes). I'm a big country music fan but I listen to a little bit of everything. Some of my favorite singers/ bands are Tim McGraw, The Civil Wars, Lumineers, Of monsters and men, Kenny Chesney , and a lot more( I could go on forever). I love seeing new movies and watching my favorites shows at night. I love Modern family, New Girl, The mindy project, Glee, Nashville, etc. I'm also into those investigation shows, like Law & Order SVU, CSI, and Criminal Minds( and I can't even tell you why). I also enjoy cooking and baking. For Christmas this year, i've asked for kitchen supplies, like a crock pot, panini presser, a mixer, etc. I'm involved with my church and i love being there. God defiantly means a lot to me and I know he's done a lot for me. As for what I want to be when I'm older, if only I knew. I've always wanted to be a lawyer, like a criminal prosecutor, or a pilot, a chief, and I've even thought about acting/ modeling, I'd really like to do that. I'm all over the place when it comes to jobs. I do know I want to go to a community collage for maybe two years then go to a university somewhere. In the mix right now are KU and Hawaii, but I have to look into them more. Aside from all that life involves, I know it wouldn't be here without God's amazing grace and Dr. Burzynski. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here typing this. I thank God everyday for allowing me to live and if I ever got the chance I'd thank Dr. Burzynski for all his dedication and for not giving up on me. I'd thank him for helping save my life.

ORIGINAL POST:

When Tori Moreno was born in June 1998, she seemed a perfect baby. Her evaluation at the hospital was normal, with no hint of any problems. Within weeks, however, Kim and Roman Moreno began to notice signs of trouble. Tori’s eyes had trouble tracking things, her left eye didn’t blink and the left side of her face seemed stiff. A routine MRI was scheduled, and, almost faster than Kim and Roman could comprehend, Tori was rushed into intensive care and transferred to a cancer center for surgery. The MRI had revealed that Tori had a brain stem glioma, a fast-growing brain tumor, and the doctors felt she would die. The news got worse. Doctors at the cancer center told the Moreno’s that the tumor was intertwined with normal brain tissue and could not be surgically removed. The only option was chemotherapy, which offered no real hope of survival. It might slow tumor growth and give the family an additional month. Though they knew nothing about brain tumors, Kim and Roman began searching for options. They found Dr. Burzynski on the internet and read about another little girl whose tumor was dissolving. They decided that they would bring Tori to Dr. Burzynski, but, because she was under six months old, they first had to get two letters of “inoperability” from other doctors and request a compassionate exemption from the FDA so Tori could receive the experimental drug. The exemption was granted and Tori began IV infusion in October 1998.

Soon after they returned home, the Morenos began to notice changes for the better and Tori’s first MRI, in December, showed a 23% reduction in the size of her tumor. Tori stayed on infusion and began to develop like a normal child , crying, laughing, crawling and charming everyone. Within a year from her diagnosis of certain death, Tori’s tumor was reduced by 70%. Now nearly five, Tori is a delightful child and Kim and Roman know that she was saved by Dr. Burzynski’s efforts.